Monadnock board issues censure
As published in the Oct. 6, 2011 edition of The Keene Sentinel, and online.
One of the Monadnock Regional School Board's newest members has been formally censured for what other members say is an unwelcome attitude.
Board members voted last month to censure Jennifer Labadie of Sullivan for saying negative things about the district and its board.
Of the 12 members present at the meeting, 10 voted in favor of the motion by Swanzey board member Patricia Bauries to censure Labadie. One member, William Felton of Swanzey, abstained from voting and Labadie was the only member to vote no.
The censure will have no effect on Labadie's position on the board, according to Chairman Richard H. Thackston 3rd.
"It doesn't mean she can't vote, it doesn't mean she can't serve on committees. ... It means we just don't agree with you. And it doesn't mean on a voting basis, it means your attitude is poor," he said in an interview.
Thackston alleged that Labadie had made a number of comments slighting Monadnock students and administrators during her time on the board.
"This was not over having differing views on what should be done. This was over her attitude towards our students, our staff and our administrators," he said.
But Labadie, who was elected to the board in March, said her criticism has never been directed at anyone but the other members of the school board, who she said consistently make decisions that value cutting costs over quality of education.
"The teachers and the administration are doing an unbelievable job with what they have, but I don't think they have enough tools," she said.
Towns in the Monadnock district -- Fitzwilliam, Gilsum, Richmond, Roxbury, Sullivan, Swanzey and Troy -- have some of the highest school property tax rates of any school district in the region.
Nonetheless, the resources available to students are poor compared to the Keene School District, said Labadie, whose own children are homeschooled.
She does not regret making waves, she said.
"I've been told from the beginning that if I didn't start going along to get along it could lead to me being censured," she said. "And I'm not a go-along-to-get-along kind of person."
tagged with: Monadnock regional school board
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